3 CMS schools included in hepatitis A advisory

Students, staff or parents at J.H. Gunn and Clear Creek elementary schools and Rocky River High School bought pizza from the Papa John’s restaurant during the dates of possible exposure, CMS officials said.

The list of people possibly exposed to hepatitis A connected with a northeast Charlotte pizza restaurant includes students, staff and parents at three Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

Officials at J.H. Gunn and Clear Creek elementary schools and Rocky River High School sent out messages to families late last week advising them of the possible exposure.

Health officials in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties estimate 2,400 or more people might have been exposed to hepatitis A after an employee at a Papa John’s pizza restaurant contracted the illness in late March.

Exposure was possible between March 24 and April 7, although health officials were focusing on those who might have been in the restaurant or eaten pizza purchased in the final few days of March.

The restaurant is on Cambridge Commons Drive, off Harrisburg Road near I-485, near the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus county line.

The largest potential exposure among the three CMS schools was at Clear Creek Elementary. A spokeswoman for the school system said the PTA at Clear Creek bought 30 boxes of pizza for an event.

At Rocky River High, several faculty members who had pizza for lunch were among those who were told they might have been exposed. And 11 students at J.H. Gunn Elementary also were involved.

Officials in the two counties conducted vaccination clinics over the weekend and estimate they vaccinated more than 1,700 people.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department conducted its final scheduled day of hepatitis A vaccination clinics Monday at the department’s office on Beatties Ford Road.